He had a nice view of the World Series Game 6 action on Tuesday night in Cleveland. But, sadly, Eddie Robinson, 95, didn’t get to see his beloved Indians clinch the title that night.
The Tribe lost to the Cubs, 9-3, sending the series to Game 7 — the one that will decide it for the history books. The tie-breaker game takes place tonight, airing on Fox at 8 p.m. ET, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio.
“They build these parks with short fences. I would have liked that if I was still playing.”
But for Robinson, it’s all about a love of baseball. He was the starting first baseman for the Indians back in 1948, the last time the club won a World Series — he’s the last surviving member of that famed team. (In the image above, he’s in the middle, with teammates Gil McDougald, left, and Bill Hunter.)
Robinson played a big role in that series, going 6-for-20 with one RBI as the Indians won the series in six games. His lone RBI was an eighth-inning single that pushed the Indians’ lead to 4-1 in a game they went on to win 4-3. He drove in the decisive run in Cleveland’s victory over the Boston Braves in Game 6.
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Robinson, who boasts a 65-year career in baseball including playing, scouting, and managing, flew from his home in Forth Worth, Texas, to be at Game 6, hoping to see the Indians do it again and win their first World Series in 68 years.
“I’ve been pulling for them all year,” Robinson told the Associated Press before the game.
Wearing his old-style Chief Wahoo jacket and cap, Robinson said he has noticed some differences in the game between that World Series and this one.
“With the bigger gloves [now] they make spectacular catches,” he told AP of the outfielders. “We played with smaller gloves, and couldn’t afford to dive for those balls. They had to knock them down and make sure they didn’t go for extra bases.”
And he said, “A lot of home runs [are hit today]. They build these parks with short fences. I would have liked that if I was still playing.”
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Robinson recalled what it was like to win the World Series then, having driven in the winning run in the game, which was played in Boston.
“That was a tough year,” Robinson, whose memory is strong, told the MLB Network on SiriusXM. “That whole year was a nip-and-tuck year with the Yankees and the Red Sox. Philadelphia was in the mix and Cleveland. All year was tough.”
The Indians had to beat Detroit on a Sunday to clinch it, but lost and had to play Boston the next day. So they got on a train, recalls Robinson, got in at 8 a.m., went to the ballpark that day — and won.
“Then the Braves had won the National League, so we just stayed in Boston. Our wives brought our clothes to us. We didn’t take any clothes with us. We didn’t know if we’d be coming back the next day or not. They brought our clothes and we had to stay there in Boston. It was eventful.”
And when the team won the championship, Robinson — who went on to be general manager of the Atlanta Braves and, later, the Texas Rangers — said, “It was a great day. We didn’t celebrate like they do today. After we won, we went in and changed and got on a train. But once we got on the train, we had a dining car and a club car. That’s when the party started. And the next day, the champagne was dripping from the ceiling.”
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Once they arrived back in Cleveland, he remembers the parade. “From the train station we went to Euclid Avenue, and every player got in a convertible, and we went down Euclid and it was marvelous,” he told AP. “Looked like everybody in Cleveland had turned out to celebrate our championship.”
As for the secret to Robinson’s great shape at 95?
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He credits his wife, Bette, whom he married right after the 1955 World Series (in which he played for the Yankees, who lost to the Brooklyn Dodgers). He said simply, “Good wife takes care of me.”
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